The Demi Games
by Rainbow Lagoon
Summary: Once every fifty years, the gods force Camp Half-Blood to hold The Demi Games. The Demi Games is a survival challenge for the demigods to see how well they're trained. 24 are sent in, only 1 comes out. Who will come out alive? Percabeth.
1. The Reaping

**THE DEMI GAMES**

Annabeth

My eyes snapped open; heart pumping, like I had just run five miles. Stupid nightmares. I've been having the same one for the past few days now, and I have absolutely _no_ idea what it means. It's where some big, burly guy would chase me down, whip out his knife, and stab me mercilessly. Naturally, I wouldn't be able to get away, so I'd just punch and kick and scream.

Just the thought of the nightmare made me shudder.

It was so life-like and creepy, that I'd never be able to go back to sleep.

Groggily, I sat up and rubbed my bright gray eyes. I was in the Athena cabin sitting in my bunk with the sheets messed up, and my pink, Hello Kitty lamp (Don't Say. _Anything_.) knocked over.

Perfect.

I wonder how many people _that_ woke up.

All of my siblings were sound asleep, all nestled in their bunks. They looked so peaceful that I was instantly jealous. Not one of them seemed to be having a nightmare. I guess it's just because I'm special. They're so lucky not to be me.

I knew I wouldn't be getting any more sleep today. I glanced at the clock: 6:34 A.M.

All of a sudden there was a cool breeze that seemed to go right through me.I was sure the breeze came from behind me.

_What the heck? We don't have air conditioning here. _I thought.

I whirled around, and as soon as I did, I immediately rolled my eyes. There was a window behind my dresser, and I guess _somebody, _I'm not naming any names here, *MALCOLM*, didn't do his job and make sure that they were closed.

Sighing, I hauled myself off of the bed, and over to the window. Just as I was about to shut it, I saw a figure walk out of the Hermes cabin and down in the direction of the beach. That could only be one person.

I quickly changed into some capri jeans, my orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, and a pair of old, black Converse.

I tip-toed over to my nightstand trying not to wake anyone up. The _last _thing I needed was someone asking me where I was going.

Pulling the drawer open, I searched for my bright red flashlight that I always keep just in case I have to whack somebody in the head. My hand finally found something round, hard and cold. I clasped the object in my hand. I had found the flashlight.

Time to move out.

I gripped the flashlight and began to tip-toe towards the door. I was a few feet away from it, when a soft snoring coming from my left caught my attention.

The snore was definitely a girl. No question about it.

I silently took a peek at the small body huddled beneath the covers, trying her best to keep herself warm. I could just barely see her face, but from the looks of it she had blond hair and a splash of freckles. I smiled.

My half-sister, Celia.

I can honestly say she is just about the sweetest thing I have ever met. She is probably the only 13-year-old girl I know, who refuses to watch television, use a cell phone, or the computer. Celia is a total nature freak. I'm surprised she wasn't a Demeter kid.

Smiling, I whispered, "Sweet dreams."

* * *

As quiet as a mouse, I slipped out the door and ran towards the beach at full speed. The Harpies were no where to be found, which was good in my case.

As soon as I reached the beach, I skidded to a halt. The figure was standing with his hands in his pocket, and his face was towards the shore. The cool wind was blowing through his hair, making things even more dramatic.

Slowly, I made my way towards him. My battle plan was to get 2 feet behind him and scare the living day lights out of him. But when I was about ten feet away, I heard him say, "Hey, Annabeth. Nice day, huh?"

I gaped at him. He had just ruined my beautiful plan. How dare he. "How'd ya know it was me, Luke?"

He turned to face me with a smile on his face. "You're the only person I know, who gets up at 6:30 in the morning."

I smiled at him. His bright blue eyes were kind, but hard. The white scar etched from the bottom of his eye down to his chin, made him look devious in the dark.

I took a deep breath. "I'm gifted."

He smiled those beautiful, pearly white teeth at me. "I know."

Together we sat down on the soft sand in silence.

Luke looked at me with an adoring smile, "You still have the knife I gave you?"

I nodded pulling the bronze knife out of its sheath. Luke had given it to me nine years ago, when I was only six yeas old. I've kept it ever sine, considering it _was_ my only weapon at the time. But now I use it frequently. I've been thinking about naming it. I'm thinking _Samantha_...Eh, I'll come up with something later.

"I know you're good at slashing and stabbing and all," Luke started, "But are you good at _throwing_ knives?"

"Not sure." I took one look at his expression. "Yes, Luke, I'm going to try."

Luke nodded.

I decided to take aim for a tree. They were easy and very convenient. I wrenched my hand back behind my head, then fast as a viper threw it as hard, and as far as I could. The knife hit the tree, but it didn't stick. Instead, it fell off after about two seconds.

Luke grinned, "Beginner's luck."

I smiled, and jogged over to the poor tree that I had hit. As soon as I bent down to pick up my knife, a dryad melted out of the tree. and began to yell at me. After I finally calmed the dryad down, and she melted back into her tree, I walked back to Luke and plopped back down into the sand.

"Hey, Annabeth?" Luke asked. He gazed out towards the ocean, wistfully watching the waves roll in and out. I resisted the urge to cup his face. "Yeah?"

"Do you ever think-" He stopped himself, by taking a deep breath. "Do you ever wonder what would happen if we ran away from here?"

My eyes widened, "What? Run away from camp? Luke that's-"

"Crazy?" He finished for me. "Yeah, I know. But we _could_ do it."

I snorted, "Are you kidding me? We wouldn't make it three miles. They'd totally catch us. Plus it'd be suicide."

There was a small silence. Normally people have awkward silences, but Luke and I never have those kinds of silences. No matter what it's always a peaceful one.

Luke leaned back on his elbows and muttered, "Today's the day."

MY eyes widened. Day? What day? Did I miss some kind of head counselor meeting or something? IS IT SOMEONE'S BIRTHDAY?

I frowned, trying to comprehend what Luke was talking about. "It's not your birthday is it?"

Just the thought of me forgetting his birthday made me panic. Luke was one of my best friends HOW COULD I FORGET IT? It's his birthday! I didn't even get him a present! Maybe later today I can get him a mug with his name on it or something.

For about ten seconds I actually thought I forgot his birthday.

But to my relief, he laughed.

"No, it's _not_ my birthday." Luke looked troubled, as if remembering something horrible from the past, "You know what? Why don't we forget I mentioned it, okay?"

"Okay." I said. I was still a little suspicious, though. I mean, Luke _never_ hides things from me. Well, there was that one time...Okay the _point is_ he _almost never_ keeps things from me.

_Today's the day._

What does is that supposed to mean? Was it some sort of sandwich day? Puzzled, I spent the rest of my time with Luke running through all of the important dates in camp.

Capture the flag?

_No, today's Tuesday._

A quest?

_There's nothing happening._

GROUND HOG DAY?

_Now I__** know**_ _that can't be it. _

My thoughts were startled by a horn being blown in the distance. The horn was signaling breakfast. Luke and I had been sitting out here for thirty minutes. I can't believe I didn't even notice it getting lighter out.

Luke and I stood up, both of us brushing the sand off of our pants and hands.

I grinned at him. "I guess I'll see you in a couple of hours."

As I turned to leave I felt someone grab my wrist. Tightly. I whirled around, and nearly head-bumped Luke. Yeah, he was standing that close to me, while holding my wrist.

"Luke what are you-?"

Luke cut me off by holding up is pointer finger. Then he whispered something barely audible:

_"Stay strong, Annabeth."_

* * *

We were sitting in the dining pavilion, and we had just finished our meals, when Chiron banged his hoof onto the floor.

Everyone went silent.

Chiron looked horrible. He had bags under his eyes, his brown hair was in a rat's nest, and his shirt, that read _'My other car is a centaur'_ on it was wrinkled.

I looked around and saw Thalia. She was sitting alone at the Zeus table, looking pretty concerned for Chiron.

Percy was next to her at the Poseidon table. Alone. He was finishing the rest of his bacon, but still trying to listen to Chiron at the same time. *Sigh* Seaweed Brain.

Chiron was fidgeting so much, he seemed to be forcing himself to talk, "Children. I am afraid to say it, but it seems it's that time of year again."

We all stared at each other. Nobody knew what he was talking about. I managed to catch Luke's eye. His expression was blank as he turned away from me.

Mr. D rolled his eyes, "Today's the day."

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT LUKE TOLD ME! WHAT IS WITH THIS?

The camp was so quiet, you could hear the monsters grumbling and scuffling in the trees, and the harpies squawking in the distance.

Mr. D burst out laughing, "You mean you don't know?"

Silence.

"Today is the Reaping for the Demigod Games." Mr. D took another sip of his Coke and began to laugh some more. "Where have _you_ been the last fifty years?"

More silence.

Mr. D sat there a second. "Oh."

Chiron put a hand on Mr. D's shoulder, "I'll explain the rest."

Mr. D nodded.

"Every fifty years, the gods hold some thing called The Demi Games. It's where two so-called 'tributes' are picked out of a bowl and fight to the death."

Dead silence.

Chiron looked at each one of us sadly, "There are 12 camps, and each camp takes two tributes, a male and female, to fight to the death, all to see which camp is doing a better job of training."

Travis raised his hand, "So the gods are gonna be watching?"

Chiron nodded, "We all are. Everything is filmed. The Reaping. The Opening Ceremonies. The Interviews. The actual Games...There will be a screen by the campfire, and we will watch it there. Oh, and yes, before you ask, you may volunteer for someone, but it is always very rare."

This time Clarisse raised her hand, "So we're gonna watch people die for the god's entertainment?"

The boy next to her, Mark I think, gave her a little shove, "Well, what do you expect? They've been alive for, like, ever. They probably get bored very easily."

The campers began muttering nervously to one another. Some even looked like they were arguing. Little Celia, who was sitting next to me at our table, looked terrified.

Chiron stomped his hoof again. "QUIET!"

Even more silence.

"I'm supposed to do the Reaping right after breakfast. Each of you must go to your cabins, change into jeans and your Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, then come to the pavilion, sit at your tables, and wait for further instructions. Understand?"

We nodded.

"Good." He pointed towards the cabins, "Now go."

* * *

As I was heading towards my cabin, I felt a small hand grip mine. "Annabeth?"

I turned to find Celia. She was keeping in step with me and she had a death grip on me. Celia was wearing her usual green shirt that read, 'World Peace' on the front and showed a picture of the earth on the back.

Celia's blond hair was tied in a ponytail and her big gray eyes were confused and frightened, "Are we really going to have to fight to the death?"

I stopped her and put both of my hands on her shoulders, "Celia, you're not going to get picked for this. Trust me. Your slip is one out of at least 70. They'll probably choose an Ares kid."

Her eyes filled with tears, "I don't wanna die."

"I know, I know." I whispered, placing a loose strand of her blond hair behind her ear, "But everything is gonna be alight."

She shook her head, "What if it isn't? What if you get picked? Or Malcolm? Or-or-"

Celia buried her mess of hair into my shirt and began to cry. I embraced her into a long hug, and cooed soothing things into her ear. I could feel her trembling. Celia only trembles when she is absolutely terrified. That little fact only made me feel worse. I couldn't believe the Olympians had the nerve to dot his kind of thing, send their kids off to go and die in some stupid arena. I was absolutely furious that my mother even thought to agree to this.

Finally, when the tears began to stop, I looked her straight in the eye and said, "Celia everything is going to be okay. Right now we have to get you changed. Okay?

Celia nodded, trying her best to wipe all of the tears out of her gray eyes. She seemed to believe me so much, I instantly felt guilty.

Giving her my best, "reassuring" smile, I held out my hand for her to take, "Come on."

Celia wiped away the remaining tears, as she let me lead her towards the Athena cabin. Before we entered, I whispered in her ear, so faintly she probably didn't even hear it, "Stay strong."

* * *

We quickly changed and I lead my cabin back out to the dining pavilion. The only thing I could see was a mass of orange. Even the Aphrodite kids were wearing them, though some didn't look happy. Every camper was wearing a bright orange T-shirt. Well, everyone except Drew. She had cut the poor T-Shirt's sleeves off, and cut the hem of it up to make it look more "fashionable."

Hovering ten feet above ground, was a small pudgy man carrying a big, black camera. He seemed to be testing it out or something. What was he doing here anyway?

Mr. D called up to him, "Will it film?"

The man gave a thumbs up.

Oh, I forgot. We're going to be filmed. Joyfulness...

It was a few minutes before Chiron finally showed up. He as well was wearing his Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt, but his behind was covered up by the wheelchair.

Mr. D sat in the corner, still drinking his Coke, and looking bored to death.

Chiron cleared his throat and tried to sound enthusiastic, "Hello, campers!"

There was a loud, enthusiastic, "HI!" from the Hermes table.

Chiron smiled kindly at in the direction of the voice, "Very nice. Now onto the Reapings."

He snapped his fingers. Slowly, the floor beneath Chiron began to rise, towering over all of us. When he finally stopped rising, Chiron was standing on a ten foot stage. All of a sudden, two glass orbs, the sizes of globes, appeared onto his left and his right.

Chiron acted like this was normal, "As usual, ladies first."

Chiron reached into the orb on his left and dug around for a long, and I mean _long, _time. The only thought that seemed to cross my mind during tat time was, _Not me. Not me. Not me. Not me. Not Me. NOT ME!_

When he _finally_ choose a slip of paper, Chiron opened it up and read the name with a dramatic pause.

"Cecelia Greensted."

_NOT HER. NOT HER. NOT HER. NOT HER. NOT HER. NOT HER!_

My entire world seemed to be collapsing right under me. My head felt so dizzy I nearly toppled over off of my chair, like the world was spinning at super speed. Celia couldn't be the tribute! She just couldn't! Celia was barely strong enough to stab someone, and was too afraid of hurting the other person - even during sword training - but _killing_ someone? Forget t.

All eyes turned to my half-sister as her eyes widened to the size of baseballs. She was trembling with every step she took towards that cursed stage.

That's when I came back to the real world, "Celia!"

She whirled around, relieved that someone was stopping her, "Yeah?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I yelled at her.

"Um..." She started, but Chiron cut her off. "YOUNG LADY! BACK IN YOUR PLACE!"

Instead of obeying Chiron, like I should've, I ran up to Celia shoved her behind me and screamed, "I volunteer!"

Mr. D did a giant spit take, spraying coke everywhere. Luke stared at me in horror, and Thalia's eyes were wide with shock. I honestly couldn't believe I was doing it myself, but I knew one thing, I was _not_ letting Celia in that arena.

Chiron blinked a couple times before coming to his senses, "Well, um, come on up, young lady."

Oh, I see. Pretending not to know my name, huh? Thanks Chiron. Don't I feel appreciated.

I climbed the pitch-black stairs, and stood there staring at my fellow campers. The thought of never seeing their faces again almost made me burst into tears, but I knew crying would only make things worse, so I held my head up high and thought about happy things. Like unicorns.

Chiron handed me a microphone and asked, "Your name is...?"

I took a deep breath, "Annabeth. Annabeth Chase."

"Godly parent?"

I glanced at him nervously. I wasn't one to announce it like that, but he kept prompting me to, "Uh...Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle strategy."

Chiron smiled, his eyes clearly saying, _Good job._

He began to talk again, but I couldn't hear anything. I was too busy staring at the floor, and trying to get my emotions in control.

_Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. You can handle this, Annabeth you can. The Olympians are cruel. Don't cry, don't_ _cry._

Chiron reached into the glass orb on the right side of him and pulled out another name.

_This can't possibly get any worse._ I thought to myself miserably.

"Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, correct?"

Me and my big mouth.

* * *

**Okay so it's the first chapter. Tell me how I'm doing guys! Thanks! **

**Rain~***


	2. The Goodbyes

Annabeth

Chiron led us into the Big House, and slammed the door shut behind us. In other words, it was just Percy, that weird leopard head named Seymour, and me.

I was sitting on a very comfortable wooden stool that I found only moments ago.

Percy was sitting across from me, on a velvet couch, in brown shorts and his Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. He seemed to be taking great interest in his shoelace. I have to admit, it _was_ a very _nice_ shoelace.

There was still an awkward silence in the air.

"So," I started, unsure of where I was going, "Weather these days. Crazy, right?"

Percy stared at me with eyebrows raised, "You're seriously asking me about _weather_, Wise Girl?"

Suddenly, the door bursts open and Luke comes rushing in. I jumped up and ran towards him. He grabbed me by shoulders and said panting between each word, "What. Were. You. _Thinking_?"

I began to answer him, but was immediately cut off, "How on earth are you going to take on 23 other people?"

Once again, I was cut off, "I can't believe you right now! Do you know that there is an eighty percent chance you won't come back? What-"

This time _I_ cut him off, "But there is a twenty percent chance that I will."

Luke stared at me like I had just jumped to Mars and back.

"Look, I know I might not come back, but I'm going to try. For you, for Celia, and for Thalia."

Percy sneezed very, _very_ loudly, from behind me. Luke and I both turned to face the raven-haired boy.

The son of Poseidon's green eyes bore into mine as he looked from me to Luke, "What?"

Luke glared at him, "We were talking and you interrupted us."

Percy raised both of his eyebrows, "Oh, so I have to learn to sneeze quietly now? Is that it?"

Luke balled up his fists, his face bright red from anger. This was not good. Whenever Luke balled up his fists like that, he was getting prepared to punch someone square in the jaw.

I certainly hope that doesn't happen right now. Luke opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then thought better of it. His fists were still balled up so I wasn't sure if he was going to lash out or not.

I nudged Luke on the shoulder, just to make sure. "Luke?"

He closed his eyes, obviously trying to calm himself down. "Anyway, just stay alive as long as you can. That's the only thing that matters right now."

Percy snorted, "_Fantastic_ advice, Luke. _Nobody_ would've thought of advice _that_ wonderful! Thanks for stating the obvious."

Luke whirled around, "You know what, Jackson?"

That's when Chiron came into the room, "Luke your time is up."

Luke took one last look at me and said, "You will come back. I know you will." He glared at Percy, "I'll get you, Jackson"

With that, Chiron ushered him out the door and slammed it once more.

"I'll get you, Jackson." Percy said in a mocking tone.

I turned to Percy, "Percy!"

He raised his arms in defense, "_What?_ _He_ was the one being all touchy."

I plopped back down onto my wooden stool, and groaned. A part of me couldn't help but wonder if Percy was jealous, but the other half snorted, _Yeah, right._

A few minutes later, Chiron came back in and sighed, "Percy because of the, ah, _incident_ with Luke we are putting you in separate rooms."

Percy shrugged and stalked out of the room, muttering things about Luke snitching on him. For the fourth time that day, Chiron slammed the door shut. After Percy left, it was just me and Seymour. No one else in sight.

Just me.

All alone.

With Seymour.

All of a sudden, the door burst open again, an Thalia came rushing in, "Annie!"

"Thals!"

We tackled each other in one big bear hug. When we both let go she gripped my hands, "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Annie. I now how much you care about Celia."

I nodded.

Thalia shifted awkwardly, "And _if_ you _do_ die can I have your iPod? Because I really need-"

"THALIA!"

"Okay, okay. Just asking."

There was a silence.

Thalia poked me, "You know, I was just kidding a second ago."

More silence.

"Really. You're going to come back."

Even more silence.

"I'M GONNA DIE!" I wailed as I put my head in my hands.

Thalia shook her head rapidly, "No, no, Annie. You're not. You're stronger than them. You'll win. I know you will."

I shook my head, "I'll have to kill Percy."

Thalia winced. It was pretty obvious she felt bad for me. I mean, it's not everyday you have to kill an annoying son of Poseidon. Especially if you have had a soft spot for him ever since you met him.

We talked for a few more minutes, until Chiron came and got her.

Grover came in at one point wishing me good luck, and giving me a lucky acorn. I wasn't sure how that was going to help me, but I thanked him anyway.

Celia was one of my last visitors. The moment she walked through the doors, I tackled her into one big bear hug. Neither one of us wanted to be the first to let go.

Finally, she pulled away and smiled weakly, "Hi."

I smiled back, "Hi."

The two of us talked mainly about winning, and strategies to win, but it wasn't until the very end when Chiron ushered her out. Before she left she slipped something into my hand, and whispered, "Stay strong."

Celia let go, and shuffled out of the room, and the door slammed shut for the final time.

I opened my hand to reveal a shiny golden trinket. When I take a closer look, I realize it was a golden necklace. Around the chain, was a golden locket with the words _'What doesn't kill you makes you __Stronger__'_ printed on the front. When I opened it up the little locket began to chime softly to the tune of Kelly Clarkson's Stronger.

In other words, it was beautiful.

I smiled, sinking to the wooden floor beneath me, my vision was beginning to blur with tears. I took a deep breath through my nose and tried to calm myself.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of golden light. So bright, that I had to look away. That could only mean one thing: An Olympian.

When the light died down, I didn't bother to turn around. I had absolutely _no_ interest in seeing one of _them_. The cruel, selfish, hogs who came up with this whole psychotic idea.

"Annabeth?" The voice asked. Oh, just dandy. Of all the Olympians, the one who I want to see least comes to rub my death in my face.

"Mother, I do not wish to see you right now." I wiped the half-formed tears from the brims of my eyes, "Leave me alone."

My mother took a step closer to me, "Annabeth, I know you're upset, but-"

"_Upset?_" I whirled around to face her, my stormy gray eyes blazing with fury. "I'm going to _die_! 23 _children_ are going to _die_! All for your stupid entertainment!"

"Ann-" She tried again, but I cut her off just as quickly.

"So thanks, Mother. Thanks for ruining and taking away my life." I continued on sarcastically. "Best mom a girl could have. Or should I even call you that?" I grumbled calming myself down and taking my place back on the stool.

Athena stepped towards me, I didn't realize up until now that she was holding my Yankees cap. She looked truly hurt by my words, but I wasn't going to fall for her act.

Sighing, she sat down beside me and said, "I invited your family and Percy's parents to come watch the games, and say good-bye."

I said nothing.

"Annabeth, listen. We voted on this so far back I can barely remember." She sounded hollow, like she was regretting her vote for these wretched games. Athena continued on in the same tone of voice, "I thought it'd be good for the campers, but now I see that..." She swallowed. "It's nothing but cruel. Annabeth I-" I cut her off once more.

"I'll play in your stupid games, okay? I might even win, but I can tell you right now I am _not_ and I repeat _not_ killing anyone. And that is final." With that, I crossed my arms and turned away from my so-called mother. She sighed disapprovingly, and flashed out of the room.

I sat alone in the room, thinking about what Athena said, _I invited your family. _

Oh great. Some more people who don't care about me. I sat on the floor for a solid ten minutes. No one came in through the big, hollow door._  
_

I figured my dad would want to come in and say a few things to me, or at least get a good _look_ at me before I die, but he never did.

This made me both angry and sad at the same time. My heart clenched in my chest, tears threatening to escape. I couldn't believe him. Would he seriously not come in to say good-bye? This little gesture made my hatred for him and _step-mother_ even stronger.

That's when Chiron came in, "Annabeth. It's time to get you and Percy to Olympus."

I wiped my eyes to make sure there weren't any tears falling, "Um, okay. So what are we taking? A boat? A bus?"

Chiron smiled down at me, "We're taking a train."

Scrambling up, I managed to say, "Okay."

With that Chiron led me out to the sleek, silver train, that was taking me to my death.

* * *

**...I don't know what to say now so...REVIEW! I guess...**

**Rain~***


	3. The Train Ride

Annabeth

…_Seventy-eight_

…_Seventy-nine _

…_A bazillion and three._

I groaned, looking away from the train's window. I was counting how many trees I could actually make out, since we were going so fast. I had lost count ages ago, but decided to keep going just to entertain myself.

Percy was sitting next to me staring back down at the red carpet in silence. I knew he was thinking about the Games, and wondering how he was going to die. I hate to admit it, but the thought _has _crossed my mind a couple times. Would someone pin me down and stab me mercilessly, like in my dreams? Maybe some one would cut my arms and legs off and eat them!

Ugh. I shook my head and tried to remove the horrible thoughts from my mind. Thinking about it would only make it worse.

For the first time, I noticed a deep brown mahogany table, perched right in front of me and Percy. I don't know how I could've missed it. t was sitting right there! I took a moment to stare down at the fancy, white tablecloth that held multiple glass cups and plates.

Eventually it got very boring, observing the same table over and over.

So I decided to just try and talk to Percy.

"So," I started, "Weather's looking nice, huh."

Percy turned to stare at me, as if expecting me to say more stupid stuff about the weather. Instead, I stared back at him saying nothing.

Talk about awkward.

Finally, Percy turned away from me, shaking his head like I was the biggest idiot alive. I did not appreciate this one bit. Huffing, I turned away from him and continued to say nothing for a good thirty minutes.

Just then, the door swung open, revealing a tall, woozy man, carrying a glass of clear liquid in his right hand. He was so dizzy, he was on the verge of falling over. The man had on a light blue button up shirt, with a dark blue jacket over it. His pants were a navy blue, and his shoes were black.

Next to him, was another woman, who wore a dress that had vibrant colors and black high heels. Her brown hair hair was tied in a bun, and a creepy smile was plastered on her face.

The walking rainbow made her way over to the back of the room and took a seat. She picked up a magazine and began to read it.

The blond-haired man made his way to the velvet seat across from us, and plopped down, giving us a very toothy grin. "Hi."

Percy and I glanced at each other, eyes wide. Oh, brother.

It was a while before the pudgy drunk man spoke again, his voice slurred and confused, "So these are Camp 12's tributes?"

Percy and I glanced at each other, but Percy spoke up, "Uh, why-?"

The man cut him off, "During the Games each camp is a certain number. You're 12. For the 12 Olympian gods."

"Oh." I said softly. The man began to giggle, in a weird and creepy way. Percy caught my eye, and it was obvious that we were thinking the same thing, _This_ is our mentor?

But that was before he started singing random songs and laughing like a maniac, "_She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes! She'll be coming 'round the mountain...when she..._Ugh, I give up. By the way, I'm Haymitch."

"Let me guess," Percy muttered, "Son of Dionysus?"

Haymitch grinned at Percy, "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess." Sighed Percy.

Haymitch waved a hand, "Darn flies. They keep showing up everywhere!"

I scanned the fancy blue train dinging room. There were no flies to be seen. Percy seemed to be confused as well. Oh, great. This _was_ our mentor.

Percy sighed annoyed, "Do you have any tips to stay alive in the arena?"

Haymitch held up a finger, "I am meditating."

The man closed his eyes, put two fingers to his temples, and smile dreamily.

I shared another look with Percy. Meditating? Percy waved a hand in front of his face,"Um, hello? You're kind of our mentor!"

Haymitch's eyes shot open, "Don't rush me, woman! I'm busy!"

Percy looked completely offended, "Woman?"

Then without warning, Haymitch punched Percy square in the jaw, and knocked him into the table.

Hard.

So hard, that the glasses on the table smashed, and the plates skidded off. That's when I intervened and slammed my bronze knife down onto the table, aiming for Haymitch's hand, but missing by a few centimeters. Nobody, and I mean nobody, hits Percy except me.

For the first time that day, the woman in the back, who was reading a magazine spoke up, sounding irritated, "That is mahogany!"

Haymitch and Percy looked up, as the woman continued, "I also believe that the little blonde girl would like a say in this, uh-" She made a face, "Conversation, too."

They both turned to look at me holding the knife in my hand, panting. Honestly, I would rather have sat there and be invisible. The last thing I wanted was for Haymitch to go all ninja on me too. But the thing that kept me going was adrenaline. The human super power.

Haymitch laughed, "Looks like we got fighters this year, Rainbow Pants."

She glared at Haymitch.

The woman in the brightly colored dress smoothed it out, then turned to us and said, "Sorry, I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. I'm Effie, daughter of Iris, and I'm your planner."

Percy stood up from the floor, grumbling to himself, and stretching out his back, "Our what?"

Effie sighed, as if she had gone through this several times, "Your planner. The one who receives and evaluates your schedule, time of training, time of interviews, and wardrobe fittings."

Percy and I blinked, "Oh."

Haymitch cleared his throat, "So to win the Games...basically...eh, don't die. 'Kay?"

Percy glared at the man as he took a another sip of his drink, "Really? That's it?"

Haymitch nodded, "Yup."

Percy stared at him, "You just tried to kill me five seconds ago and now you're telling me to not die?"

"Look," Haymitch sighed, putting the glass down, "I'll make a little deal with you. You don't interfere with my drinking, and I'll stay sober enough to help you. But you have to do exactly what I say."

Percy frowned, "Why do we-?"

"Fine. We'll do it." I said, cutting Percy off and giving him a look. I didn't want Haymitch to punch Percy again.

Haymitch gave a nod of approval, and leaned back in his mahogany chair. Once every piece of glass was swept up off of he ground by some janitor guy, Percy and I managed to get back into our seats.

Haymitch, Percy, and I decided to talk a little more.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed until Effie squealed, "Meal time!" From the other side of the table.

At first I was confused, but then I realized what she was talking about. The meals were being brought in courses. Tomato soup, chocolate cake, hot wings, spaghetti. You name it.

I hesitated before taking anything, but Percy didn't take anything.

Effie frowned, "Aren't you going to eat?"

He shook his head slowly, "I'm not that hungry."

Effie took a glance at Haymitch, then shrugged and began to eat her food once more. I'll admit, I felt bad for Percy. He stared at his empty plate with the same blank expression all through dinner. The rest of us, however, were so busy inhaling our food nobody even bothered to talk.

It was dead silent when the dessert course came around.

As soon as Haymitch finished his dessert, which happened to be chocolate cake topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzled along the top, he got up and left the table, not saying a word.

Effie watched him walk away in complete disgust, "Absolutely no manners whatsoever."

Percy sighed wistfully as he continued to stare at his empty plate. I had the strange urge to hug him but then thought better of it. The hug would be too weird and awkward, so I settled on not making eye contact.

Effie dabbed her pale pink lips with a napkin, then looked at us, "Well, I guess it's time to watch the Reapings!"

_Oh, brother._

* * *

The Norse camp - other wise known as Camp 1 - stuck out to me the most. Mainly, because they're all big, they're all beefy, and they all look like crazy, psycho, savage killers, who could snap your neck in less than two seconds.

The woman on the screen looked as tough as a drill Sargent. She wore camouflage pants and a black sleeveless shirt. Her jet-black hair was tied up into a tight ponytail.

_"ATTEN-TION!"_

_Every camper stopped dead in their tracks._

_She scanned the camp before saying, "I am Eloise, as you all know, and today I am picking the two lucky campers to participate in the Demi Games!"_

_There was a loud cheer.  
_

I honestly could not believe what I was watching. These campers were _excited_ to die.

_"Ladies first." _

_Eloise put a hand inside of the bowl and rummaged around a bit, before pulling out a name, "Trinity Vickster."  
_

_She barely had time to say the full name, when a voice screamed, "I VOLUNTEER!"  
_

_The camera scanned the crowd, searching for who the voice belonged to. It finally zeroed in on a big beefy girl, much like Clarisse, wearing a huge smirk plastered on her face, and her jet black hair in a loose bun.  
_

_Eloise ushered her up, "'Atta girl. Now what's your name?"  
_

_"Avalon. Avalon Kimberlin."  
_

"She looks like some serious competition." Percy muttered under his breath. I shook my head. We were doomed._  
_

_"And who is your parent, Avalon?"_

_"Tyr. God of war."  
_

Naturally._  
_

_There are some wolf calls and cheers from the audience._

_"Now, how do you feel being in the Games and all."_

_Avalon cracked her knuckles, "Are you kidding me? I feel like I could rip someone's insides out and eat them for lunch."  
_

Okay, ew. I made a mental note not to accept her as an ally. She could easily kill me off._  
_

"That's a pleasant thought." Muttered Percy.

_Eloise moved on to the boys' orb, and pulled out a slip._

_"Tyro Kirkland."  
_

_The crowd thundered with applause as a beefy, blond boy made his way to the stage. He obviously worked out and he looked ready to take someone down. His eyes were a snake-like black.  
_

_"Hello, Tyro. Who is your parent?"  
_

_"Thor. God of thunder and battle."  
_

_There were some more cheers.  
_

_"And how do you feel?"  
_

_Tyro grinned wickedly, "Like a million bucks. I swear, whoever gets in my way is going down. Tyro Style."  
_

_There was some more cheering.  
_

Effie and Percy were staring at the screen in disgust. I probably looked the same way. I couldn't believe these were actual _people_ talking. People who were warped into thinking this was for fun._  
_

The rest of the Reapings went on, but there were only a few who stuck in my head: Hope, a daughter of the farm goddess, and her partner, Callaway, a son of the luck goddess, from the Roman camp, Camp 2. Most hauntingly, there was a little girl, who was twelve years old from the Persian camp, which was Camp 11.

We watched the Camp Half-Blood Reapings, me throwing Celia behind me protectively, and volunteering for her. Percy shakily making his was up to the stage, us shaking hands, and Chiron leading us into the Big House.

As soon as it was over, Effie switched the TV off, "Bed time."

And with that, Effie led us to our rooms.

* * *

After traveling down a long corridor and We stopped in front of an ocean green door. There was something printed in the middle of it, in dark green letters:

Percy Jackson

Son of Poseidon

There was a golden stallion hanging above his name. Reluctantly, Percy walked in, and closed the door behind him.

Effie smiled, "Off to yours."

We moved to the door next to Percy's, which was only three feet away, and stopped. The door was a beautiful silvery gray, and had and read, printed in gold letters:

Annabeth Chase

Daughter of Athena

Above that was a metallic owl that brought a smile to my face. Its eyes bore into mine. Cautiously, I pushed the door open. It let out a loud _creeeeeek_. The room was gorgeous. It was better than anything I had imagined. My room had all marble floor, a walk-in closet, a beautiful bed, and I even had my own bathroom, which was a first since I always had to share everything with my siblings. The bathroom was at least twice the size of the Athena cabin, and had a mirror the size of a movie theater screen.

I sighed.

Tomorrow we would be arriving in Olympus, and begin to train for the horror to come. That's what I don't understand. Why would you train us some _more_ if you're trying to see which one of us is trained_ better_? Now, I'm not objecting it, of course, but it still didn't make any sense. Well, holding these Games didn't make any sense either, so I guess its a godly thing.

I plopped down onto my bed. It was definitely a Queen size, and had three puffy comforters, two sets of sheets and eight silky pillows in total.

Curiously, I opened the pure white, walk-in closet, and was surprised to find that it was completely empty. For a moment, that is. In a flash, a pair of silky white pajamas appeared in the closet, as well as another Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, a pair of gray converse, and knee length jeans.

The pajamas could've been poison or something, but honestly I could've cared less. I was too tired to deal with any of that. I quickly changed out of my Camp Half- Blood T-shirt and into the pajamas. They felt so smooth against my skin it was strangely comforting.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out, and I enjoyed a long, peaceful dreamless sleep.

* * *

I woke up to an ice cold bucket of water, being thrown on me. In one motion, I shot up, whipped out my knife from its sheath, and pointed it towards the attacker. Naturally, the attacker turned out the be Seaweed Brain. He was standing in the doorway with his hands raised as if casting a spell.

Surprisingly, he looked pretty good this morning. He had taken a shower, and combed out his jet-black hair, making it nice and shiny. Percy was practically wearing the same thing as yesterday, but this outfit seemed to be cleaner, and less wrinkly. Percy was giving me a lop-sided grin, so I knew ruining my morning was at the top of Percy's Ways to Annoy Annabeth list. That is, if he even _had_ one.

Effie was standing beside him, looking very displeased at me. Her rainbow dress had changed into pink hair tied in a bun, pink puffy dress, and pink shoes. In fact, I'm pretty sure her _skin_ was pink. Shaking her head, she clicked her pen, and scribbled something down on her clipboard.

I put my hands on my hips, not caring that Effie was standing right here, "SEAWEED BRAIN!"

"Don't get mad at _me_," Percy defended himself, pointing at Effie, "_She's_ the one who made me!"

Effie glanced up at me soaking wet, then back down at her clipboard, "Heavy sleeper...is woken up by...water...bucket."

I plopped back down onto the soft Queen sized bed, and sheathed my knife.

Effie took one last glance at me, before scribbling down, "Ruined...perfectly good...silk pajamas..."

After scribbling that down, she turned to Percy, "You can finish the rest." With that, she strolled out of the room, trying her best to walk in those pink 5-inch heels.

"Get dressed and come downstairs. Breakfast with be served in ten minutes," Percy said blandly. Something about the way he said it, peeved me off.

"That's nice, Percy, now could you please leave? You've already ruined my morning enough." I crossed my arms.

He began to laugh, "Ruining _your_ morning, is _my_ entertainment."

I clenched my fist and prepared to unsheathe my knife again, "Get. Out."

"Okay, fine, _Aquaman_." Percy said mockingly.

I drew my knife, "_Percy_..."

He held up his hands in defeat, "I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Geez."

With that, the door slammed shut, and for the first time that morning, I was alone.

* * *

When I walked into the dining car, dressed and newly showered, Percy took a second to stop eating his pancakes, and look up at me. Haymitch took a sip from his glass, filled with wine no doubt.

For some reason everything felt awkward.

"So," I started, "Um, what's for breakfast?"

Haymitch gestured towards the table, "Whatever's left."

All of a sudden, the train lurched a little, like we were slowing down.

"We're here!" Effie squealed.

That was impossible! It should've taken us at _least_ another hour to get to Olympus. But sure enough, there were bright flashes of cameras and several adoring screams coming from outside of the windows.

Percy ran over and peered out. For a moment, he sat there not saying anything, then he turned around and grinned, "Wise Girl, come check this out!"

I shared a grudging look with Haymitch before I made my way over to the window and peered out. There was a crowd the size of Texas lined up next to the train, all cheering with excitement. It was heart wrenching that they were excited to watch us die.

Percy was smiling and waving a them, like they were long lost relatives he hadn't seen in years. I stood there, watching Percy. How could he do that? How could he wave to them, acting so excited, when in reality we were on our death beds?

"He's being smart," Haymitch said, as if answering my question, "He's already fighting to win."

I looked back at Percy, waving to the adoring fans.

Haymitch grumbled, "Just don't talk to them okay? You'll be there for hours and we need to get this show on the road. Percy nodded, then went back to waving.

Great.

Percy was already out to have me dead.

* * *

**Thanks for the awesome feedback you guys :) Love ya! BTW: I'm going away to another country so this is my last post from now until July. Sorry guys :(  
**

**But I WILL update as soon as I get back :)  
**

**Rain~*  
**


	4. Opening Ceremonies

Annabeth

The moment we stepped out of the train, nymphs, satyrs, and minor gods mobbed us, all just dying to hear about what the tributes have to say about participating.

"Annabeth, do you think the Games are fair?"

"Percy, what is it like being a tribute?"

"Do you like to think about murdering people, Annabeth?"

"Percy, do you enjoy sushi?"

That last one almost got Percy, he whirled around and said, "Well, you see, it's a very complicated—" That's when Haymitch shoved Percy from behind, and kept him moving towards the Empire State building.

When we finally managed to get inside, a body-god slammed the door behind us, to ensure no other mythical creatures had come in.

Haymitch, Effie, Percy, and I all sighed a breath of relief.

Effie took a glance at her clipboard, "Okay, so today they're going to give you a make-over, which should take about four hours and-"

"Wait a second," I interrupted, "You never said _anything_ about make-overs."

Effie looked up at me, "Well, you can't go into the Opening Ceremonies looking like _that_."

"Don't worry it's nothing major. They'll simply trim your fingernails and scrub the grime and dirt off of you. Stuff like that." Haymitch grumbled.

"_Dirt and grime_?" I asked.

Effie nodded, "Jut follow me."

And with that, we passed the man, who usually guarded the elevator, and made our way up to Olympus.

* * *

"One...two...THREE!"_  
_

_R-i-i-i-i-p-p-p_

_SON OF A-_

I gritted my teeth, as the daughter of Aphrodite, Octavia, ripped the hair out of my poor leg. Octavia winced, "Sorry. You're just so, like, hairy! One more, okay?"_  
_

I sighed, "Okay."

I've been in here for four hours straight and I still haven't met my stylist. Apparently, he doesn't want to see me until I am 'beautified'. They've been ripping, scrubbing, filing, pulling, and brushing everything on me all day long. And by 'they', I mean Octavia, the leader, along with Flavious, and Venia. Her Make-over Sidekicks.

_R-i-i-i-i-i-i-p-p-p_

_HOLY MOTHER OF ZEUS!_

"Okay," She said brushing her hands off, "We're all done."

"Really?" I asked, not believing my own ears.

"Yup. Done." She sashayed over to the tall silver door, and picked up a creamy white cordless phone. It seemed as if it was made of marble or some other type of fancy rock.

"Hello? Yes...Tell Cinna we're ready...no...Fantastic...Okay...She didn't...really...?" I didn't pay much attention after that, she just kept gossiping about someone named Giselle.

Venia looked me over while Octavia was busy, "Oh, you looked totally gorgeous!"

Flavious nodded in agreement, "She looks better than she did four and a half hours ago."

"Well, listen I've gotta go. Workin'. Yeah...'Kay, Chelse, I'll talk to you later. Bye!" And with that she hung up, and turned to me, twirling her rich, blonde hair around her perfectly manicured finger. She looked and sounded like a total valley girl.

"Okay, well, Cinna is gonna come up and, like, look you over. Don't move. 'Kay?" With that she flounced off, followed by Venia and Flavious, slamming the door behind them.

I was alone.

Moments later, the door swung open and a young man steps into the room. I guess this must be Cinna.

"Hello, Annabeth, I'm your stylist, Cinna." He was strangely quiet, and not as loud as my 'prep team'. I immediately knew this guy wasn't going to turn me into a life-sized Barbie doll, which was a relief because the _last_ thing I wanted to do was go out there looking like a total idiot.

Cinna looked at me for a second, then mused, "They didn't touch your hair."

My hand instinctively shot up to my curly blond hair. It was up in it's usual ponytail, but I felt something unusual on the left side of my head.

A braid.

I reached up to the right side of my head.

Another braid!

I had two braids on either side of my head, instead of one. They must've taken my ponytail out, done the braids, and put my hair back into a ponytail. So I guess they _did_ touch my hair, but you probably couldn't tell because they must usually stick it up into some weird hair-do that looks unnatural.

I kept running my hand over it.

"Don't mess it up!" Cinna exclaimed, prying my hand away from my head, "I like it. It looks nice."

I looked at him skeptically.

"Really, it suits you," Cinna sighed, "My partner, Portia, is the assigned stylist for Percy. We were thinking about doing something that represents your camp. Something unforgettable. Like, what makes you stand out from the others?"

I thought for a second, "Uh, celestial bronze?"

"Hmm," He mused, "Not what I was thinking, but that's good. What else?"

Let's see. What makes Camp Half-Blood, an ancient Greek camp, stand out? I know that no other camp has celestial bronze, but that's basically it! Wait...Greek...GREEK FIRE!

"Greek fire?" I asked.

Cinna broke into a grin, "Yes! That's what I was looking for. Greek fire."

I was still confused on one thing, "So your going to dress me up like a flame?"

Cinna laughed a little, "Not exactly. But, Annabeth," He leaned in a little bit closer to me, looking me straight in the eye, "Are you afraid of fire?"

* * *

I fumbled a little in my costume. I was dressed in a full body suit of armor, made entirely out of celestial bronze, with my hair in the same ponytail, but brushed out and redone. I think they added some more curl to it, as well.

Actually, the armor looked a lot like Alice's armor in that Alice in Wonderland movie with Johnny Depp, only it was a goldish-bronze color instead of silver. Weird.

A dark green cape hung behind me that, in a few minutes, would be absorbed in green, Greek flames. Percy was standing next to me on the chariot, shaking with nerves and wearing the exact same thing as me- minus the skirt. Poor guy.

I tried lifting his spirits a little, "You rip mine off and I'll rip yours?"

Percy stared at me, looking so confused and terrified, I almost wanted to laugh, "Huh?"

"Oh," I said with a small laugh, "Capes. You rip mine off and I'll rip yours?"

Percy sighed in relief, "Oh," Then he cracked a smile, "Sure. Deal."

He stuck out his hand for me to shake. I stared at it for a minute, like it was some sort of new technology that I'd never seen before, then awkwardly shook it.

Great. Way to go, Annabeth. Now he thinks you don't know how to shake someone's hand.

The opening music begins to play. Giant marble doors slide open, and I see a huge, red carpet leading up to where Zeus and Hera were standing. I take in the scene of thirty thousand mythical creatures cheering and screaming at the top of their lungs. Ugh.

Avalon and Tyro, from Camp 1, ride in first, grinning with pleasure. Their horses are snow-white, almost silver looking. They're dressed in the same color as their horses. White. They each look like someone had bejeweled their entire body, glimmering with gems.

Camp 2, Hope and Callaway, speed in next. Their horses were...purple? They each wore black camouflage. In fact, _everything_ they were wearing was black. Except for, well, the horses.

That's when I realized each camp had their own color. Our horses were painted orange. Up until now, I had no idea why.

Before I knew it, Camp 11 rolled out onto the red carpet. Their color was brown. I saw the little girl standing next to this huge boy, who looked more like a brick wall than anything else.

That's when Cinna entered the room holding a lantern of Greek fire, looking excited, "Okay, so who's first?"

Silence.

Cinna's excitement washed clean off of his face, "Oh come on, guys!"

Percy raised his hand, "Are you _sure_ it won't barbecue us into little crisps of nothing?"

Cinna nodded, "Absolutely."

I tried to put on a brave face, "I will."

Cinna smiled, like a madman about to bring a zombie to life, "I had a feeling you would."

Before I can even process it, he's lit up my green cape. I brace myself for the heat to swallow me up, but it never comes. Instead I feel nothing except relief.

I look to my left and Percy's lit up as well. He looks mortified and stiff, afraid that if he moves he'll be melted into a Percy Puddle. Eyes wide, he slowly turns to look at me as if to say, _Oh my gods, I'm freaking on fire._

I sent him a look saying,_ At least we're not naked._

Cinna, however, is whooping and celebrating in front of us, "It works! Yes!"

I cleared my throat, "Um...Cinna?"

Cinna stopped celebrating, "Right. Now heads high, wide smiles. They'll love you."

With that, he jumped off of the chariot and began to strode away, but then whirled back around, and yelled something, but it was drowned out by the music. He repeats it, but by that time we were already moving towards the doors.

"What do you think that was?" Percy asked me. When I look at him his eyes seem even greener than usual, they almost seem like they're glowing.

"I don't know, but..." I trail off, trying to figure out what he wants us to do.

I turned to look at Cinna one last time. He kept gesturing towards his hand.

What does he want?

That's when we entered the marble building.

"Camp Half-Blood, otherwise known as Camp 12!"

The crowd simultaneously turned their attention away from Camp 11 and began to gawk at us.

My first instinct was to immediately look down and not make eye contact with the audience, but then I heard Cinna's voice in my head, _Heads high, wide smiles. They'll love you._

I stood a little taller and gave the audience a small wave. They were literally trampling over each other just to wave back. I decided to have some fun and waved with both hands. The crowd was eating it up. That's when I began to smile.

I even managed to sneak a glance at the giant screen, which was filming your every move. I gotta admit it, we looked good.

Suddenly, something grabbed my hand.

First instinct: Yank hand away from attacker.

And that's what I did. It took me a second to realize 'The Attacker' was Percy.

_Oops..._

Oh my gods, Annabeth, who _else_ could it have been? The Muffin Man?

The crowd let out little gasps and sounds of alarm. Great. I just lost half of my sponsors. Standing there, feeling like the stupidest human being on the entire planet, I felt something grab my hand again.

This time, I automatically knew it was Percy. I hid my face from any eye contact.

"Annabeth." He whispered. Hesitantly, I raised my head, meeting his eyes. He slowly raised both of our hands into the air. The crowd roared with approval, and enthusiasm. I swear if the color of the Greek fire wasn't reflecting off of my face, the entire world would've seen how red my face was.

After that I began waving to the audience again, _not_ making any eye contact with Percy whatsoever. That little incident was too much for me to handle.

The creatures were going absolutely wild, all trying to get us to notice them, or wave at them. Eventually they began to chant our names, "Annabeth! Over here! Annabeth!"

Now I know how those actors and actresses feel. Wow, I officially feel sorry for those guys.

It's when we stop in front of a long balcony, where Zeus and, ugh, Hera stood, I realize that I've been squeezing the life out of Percy's hand. I loosen my grasp and whisper, "Sorry."

He grips my hand tighter and whispers back, "No. Don't let go of me. I swear I'll fall out and die."

I give a small chuckle.

Percy pauses for a second, "Actually, that's not a bad idea."

This time, I actually laugh at him, and grip his hand tighter, "Don't, Percy."

It's after that conversation when I come back to my senses. Percy just made me laugh. Percy Jackson just made Annabeth Chase laugh. Out _loud_. Somebody call the mental institution! Annabeth Chase has gone mad! Our chariot skidded to a halt next to all of the other tributes.

Zeus began to speak. Explaining that we'd be living in Olympus during the time of the games, how we'd train in order to help us survive, get our scores for training- That sort of thing.

The only thing, ugh, Hera, did was stand there and look, what she calls, pretty. By the time Zeus finished he took a deep breath, then said in a loud voice, "I now dismiss you! Good luck, tributes, and may the gods be ever in your favor!"

The entire crowd of tributes said simultaneously, "Thank you, Lord -"

Each Camp used a different name for him.

What the...?

Suddenly, it clicked. You saw whichever god was the king or leader of all the others in your camp.

Percy and I saw Zeus and Hera, so I'm assuming Hope and Callaway saw Jupiter and Juno, since they're from the Roman camp.

After that, we whizzed by the audience, in order of Camp numbers, one more time, then we disappeared into Olympus, our new home - more like prison - until the Games start.

It's only then, when I realize I'm still holding - More like suffocating - Percy's hand. I force my stiff and aching fingers open and let go of him.

Cinna and Portia came to help us off of the chariots. They seemed so proud of us. They both chattered away about how amazing we were out there, and how the fans ate it up. I was glad neither of them mentioned the Hand Holding Mishap.

Percy turned to me, giving me and awkward smile, "So, uh, thanks for not letting me fall out there. I probably lost a lot of sponsors tonight."

I sighed, "I seriously doubt that, Percy, you did amazing. _I_ was the one who messed up by wrenching my hand away from yours. People probably hate me now."

Percy frowned at me, looking very serious, "Annabeth, no one could hate you."

I took a sudden interest in the floor, while Percy realized what he just said.

"_Oh_! Well, I mean, not like that, it's just, you know, you're pretty likable and- not that I like you- don't think that because it's not true at all, well, I like you in a friend kind of way not that way because that would be weird and," Finally he let out a sigh, his face bright red, "Never mind."

I gave a small laugh, "Percy?"

"Yeah?" He mumbled, not looking at me.

"You can be so entertaining. You know that?" With that little comment, I made my way out of the room.

* * *

**I FOUND INTERNET! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! SUCCESS! But anyway, here's another chapter for you guys. All of your reviews are so sweet! Thanks! I hope I get another round of reviews!**

**GTG! I only have two more minutes on this thing. Well...Bye!**

**Rain~***


	5. Dinner and The Moonlace

**SUPER IMPORTANT: I changed the grammar errors in chapter 4. Sorry, guys, bad grammar is my pet peeve, and I had no idea there were so many mistakes! I HAVE DECIDED TO CALL THEM CAMPS INSTEAD OF DISTRICTS BECAUSE IT MAKES NO SENSE FOR THEM TO BE CALLED DISTRICTS, WHEN THEY ARE CAMPS. GAH, stupid caps lock… Okay…that's all…I guess.**

* * *

Together Effie, Percy, Haymitch and I all made our way up to the huge golden elevator. Effie pressed the number '12' and we shot upwards, causing my stomach to be thrown in all kinds of directions. Finally the machine stops with a soft _'Ding'. _

The minute it does, Effie scampers out of the elevator, and signals us to follow her. Haymitch groaned, while Percy and I followed.

"Okay," She squealed out of excitement, "Here is Percy's room."

She gestured to a wooden door, with two pure golden handles about the length of my forearm, and was as tall the size of Percy's whole apartment building. Images of Olympians, heroes, satyrs, and one _teeny, tiny_ image of Hades near the bottom, were carved into the wood, which made the door look even more magnificent.

Effie squealed, "Isn't it dazzling."

Percy mumbled something inaudible. I guess Effie must've thought he agreed, "Yes, I mean, just _look _at the beautiful architecture! I'm pretty sure it took the Olympians almost a whole-"

I began to tune out, and focus more on the door. The architecture _was_ brilliant. I absolutely _needed_ to know who the carpenter of this door was. I couldn't believe they were even considerate to add _Hades_ onto the door. He must be so proud.

While Effie blabbed on and on about...whatever, I began to notice even more tiny details, like how in each carving the mythical creature's eyes were painted gold, or how the golden eyes followed you every time you moved, or even the way that—

"Now," Effie started, ever so rudely interrupting my train of thought, "It has your name on the door, so if you ever get lost, you just have to look for your name, and your there!" She beamed.

Oh my gods, this lady was nuts.

Percy's head snapped up, "Huh?"

I guess he must've been daydreaming too, because he looked just as bewildered as my mortal grandmother when she tries to use the computer.

His name was towards the middle of the door, it read:

* * *

**Percy Jackson **

**Poseidon**

**Camp 12**

**Greek Tribute**

* * *

Naturally, the letters were made of pure gold, and took up the entire center of the door.

"Geez, what is _up_ with the Olympians and gold?" Percy mumbled under his breath. He quietly went into the room, and shut the door, barely making a sound.

Effie cleared her throat, "Well, I guess it's time to see _your_ room."

She turned around and took a couple steps forward, "Okay, we're here."

Slowly, I turned and realized my room was right across Percy's. My door was practically identical to Percy's, but the only difference was the names, and the parent. Nothing else.

I clutched the golden handle, hesitating only for a moment, before I walked in.

Just like the one I stayed in while on the train, this room was at least two sizes bigger than my cabin, and the huge king-sized bed looked big enough to drown someone in.

I decide to check out what the bathroom looks like, just out of curiosity, but when I walk in, I almost faint. It's about the same size as the other room, but this one is made purely of marble tile. The shower takes up half of the room, while the twenty shelves of shampoos, perfumes, and other cosmetics take up the other side. The mirror is about as big as a movie theater screen, and looking at myself in the reflection makes me feel like an ant compared to it.

Not knowing what else to do, I flopped down on my bed and stared up at the large, white ceiling for who knows how long.

That's when I realized I was still in my suit of armor that I wore at the Opening Ceremonies. I slowly sit up, my body not wanting to leave the comfort of the plush mattress, and one by one I take off different pieces of the armor.

Next, I wander over to the giant closet, and examine every single button, switch, and knob that works it. There was a big, red button that read in big bold-print letters, 'On'.

Me, not being able to resist red buttons, I press it, and the next thing I know, the fancy white door swings out and knocks me square in the nose.

"_OW_!" I screech, clutching my now throbbing nose like it's a newborn child. It was a miracle that it didn't start bleeding.

Trying to ignore the throbbing pain screaming in my nose, I took a peek inside the closet and tried to find myself a pair of simple jeans and a T-shirt. The closest thing they had to that was a gray long sleeved shirt, and designer jeans. I decided to just put on my gray converse, which I still - remarkably- had with me.

I examined myself in the mirror. Well...it's not _too_ terrible. I flop back on the bed, wondering what to do next.

Suddenly, Effie poked her head in the door, looking _way_ too cheery, "Dinner's ready!"

I sighed, "I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay," She sang, "But you better hurry before the _boys_ hog all of the food."

With that being said, she skipped out of the room as best she could with those 9-inch heels.

I sighed as she closed the door. The _last _thing I want to do is eat, but I couldn't stay in here forever. I'd have to go out there eventually.

I pushed myself off of the plush bed, and made my way to the dining room.

* * *

The first thing I notice: Everything is made of crystal glass and is see-through. Crystal chandeliers, crystal candles, crystal cups, crystal plates, crystal chairs- Even the _table_ was made purely out of crystal. I felt like a porcupine in a balloon store, one step away from disaster.

I wasn't used to all of this fancy stuff. I'd probably break the first cup I _look_ at.

I move to the crystal balcony, which Percy, Cinna, and Portia were standing on. Cinna and Portia were discussing outfits for the two of us to wear at some point. Percy, on the other hand, is leaning on the rail and looking out of the balcony.

The floor of the balcony was see-through, so you can see _all _the tiny ant-sized people walking underneath you, and pretend to squish them. This is quit terrifying to me, since it's only a 12-story drop from me and the nice, soft cement. I don't understand how Percy, Cinna, and Portia can just stand there like nothing's happening, while I'm over here as tense as ever.

Actually, I don't think Percy is really paying attention. He's staring out into the semi-dark sky, looking a bit wistful, like he wishes he was anywhere but here. Of course, I'm pretty sure _everyone_ wishes they were anywhere but here except...you know...the Roman Camp and the Norse Camps tributes.

Anyway, I sit there staring at him, until Effie calls us all to the table. We obediently sit, and are served by men in very fancy, black suits. You'd think they'd be wearing Greek togas to represent the Greeks or something, but instead it's just black suits. Weird.

The plates are unbelievably large, each plate bigger than the next. The men serve from soups to lasagna, to chocolate cake. It's all so delicious smelling that it's even a bit overwhelming.

Tonight Percy eats, but he doesn't eat much, which surprises me because the meals are really hard to resist.

I glance at my fancy glass cup, which sits on my left side, "Water, please."

The crystal fills itself up. Normally, I would've ordered something like Coke or even a sports drink, but today I'm not in the mood for any of that. I, carefully, try to pick it up. Surprisingly, I don't drop the cup, and am able to get a couple sips in.

I'm not sure if I can say the same for Percy, though..._Crash!_

Effie's voice rang through the room, "SERVANTS!"_  
_

I give him a sympathetic look, as he mutters, "It was heavier than I thought."

We eat the rest of our food in utter silence. Before I can register it, dinner's over, but there's still an awkward silence in the air.

Naturally, Effie interrupts it, "Well, I can't _wait_ to watch the Opening Ceremonies."

* * *

Together, we all head to the room with a monster TV about the same size as my mirror. Percy and I sit on one leather sofa, while the rest spread out on their own chairs.

Today Hermes and Apollo were announcing and commenting on people's outfits and how well they suit them. I noticed that no one got _near_ as much applause as Percy and me, when we entered the room. I feel proud, sad, and embarrassed all wrapped into one. The outfits really _do_ look absolutely amazing on the two of us. Cinna really knows what he's doing.

Once it's over, Effie switches it off, and tells us it's time for bed. Apparently, Percy and I want to get as much "beauty rest" as possible otherwise the others will think we're slackers.

Without arguing, Percy and I drag ourselves to the grad hallway, where our rooms are.

I'm about to turn the knob to go inside mine, when suddenly Percy's hand is on my wrist. I go bright red, bu try and cover it up by turning away from him. I don't get why Percy has to do these things to me, and make me feel all fluttery and embarrassed about it.

"Um," He takes a deep breath, like he's nervous or something, "I want to show you something."

I stare at him, skeptical for a moment, but then decide to see what he wants. It can't be _that_ bad...can it?

_Still _holding my hand Percy leads me up to...a roof?

Percy leads me over to the golden railing and looks down at all of the nymphs and gods celebrating in the golden streets. The music was blaring, the muses were dancing, and the confetti was everywhere, making the street dazzle in the lights. The scene made me shiver.

Percy took notice, "You cold?"

"No," I said, regretting the action instantly, "But...why would they let us come to the roof if we can just jump off?"

He sighed, staring down at the party 12 stories down, "You can't."

Percy puts a strong arm out, but the moment he does, the son of Poseidon flies back and crashes into a plant, causing dirt to fly everywhere.

Groaning, he sits up, and presses a hand to his temple, "See?"

My first instinct is to burst out laughing at him, but then the responsible side of me takes over, and I decide to help the poor guy out. Percy is now covered in dirt, and most likely injured.

"Are you okay?" I ask, reaching down to help him up.

Percy, gratefully, accepts my hand, and pulls himself up, "Yeah, but the plant..." He trails off, and I stifle a laugh. Unwillingly, I crouch down to pick up the pieces of the pot, when I realize...It isn't just _one_ pot. Percy and I were standing in front of a full-blown garden.

I stand up, the pieces of the pot forgotten, and take in every single flower, bud, or bush in the garden. It's beautiful.

"Whoa..." I hear Percy mutter behind me.

But that's before I notice the giant marble fountain, gurgling in the center of the whole garden. Rose bushes grow around it, and there are golden lights that make the fountain literally _glow_.

Percy stops in front of a plant that gives off a silver aurora, almost like it's a part of the moon itself. He plucks it off of the stem, and stares at it with a wistful expression, as if remembering something pleasant.

I take a step forward and examine the flowers, "What's that?"

Percy's head snaps up, remembering where he was, "Oh, it's a moonlace flower. You can only plant these flowers at night. They had a ton of these when I went to Calyp-" He stopped abruptly, as if it were a topic that shouldn't be discussed at the moment.

"Went to where, Percy?" I pressed.

He shook his head, trying to make the memory go away.

I decided to just drop it, "So what does it do?"

"Do?" Percy locked me in a green-eyed gaze, almost chuckling as he said, "It doesn't really _do_ anything. It lives, it gives light...it provides beauty... " He said the last part so softly I barely caught it.

I gave a small chuckle, "It _is _pretty."

Percy holds it out to me, looking kind of shy, "You want it? It'd look nice on you..."

I'm sure my face resembles a bright, scarlet, tomato at the moment. I stare at the ground, unable to form a complete sentence. And I repeat, I don't get _why_ he does this to me.

In a flash, the door to the rooftop bursts open, and out pops Effie. It's too late to hide or, try to blend in with the garden because she spots the two of us immediately.

Her heels clack with every step she takes, making her way over to us. When she finally reaches us, she takes a huge, exaggerated sigh of relief, "_There_ you two are! I was so _worried_!"

_Sure you were, Effie. _I think silently in my head.

Effie leads us back down to our rooms, giving us a lecture on how we can't go sneaking around the building, and that people may think we're up to no good and tell on us, and how important it was to obey her. The classic Effie speech.

When we get back down to our rooms Effie watches, not risking us sneaking off again, as Percy and I each enter the palace-sized bedroom.

The sound of the wooden door closing, echos throughout the hallway.

* * *

**I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCKK! Sorry it took so long, guys, but thanks for being patient :D I should be back to updating normally again, so...yeah. I just finished reading the first chapter of The Mark of Athena :DDDDDD EXCITEDNESS! **

**I also edited some stuff in Chapters 1 and 2, in case anyone wants to go back and look at that.**

**Welp, that's it I guess...  
**

**Rain~*  
**


	6. Training

The next morning, I wake up to the feel of ice-cold water being thrown on me, soaking me to the bone. I jump up off of the bed on instinct, but manage to get my legs tangled up in the fancy, expensive sheets in the process. I do this weird staggering ballerina twirl before I hit the ground with a loud _thud._

There's laughter coming from somewhere behind me.

_Ugh. Effie is going to pay for this..._

Groaning, I sit up, untangling myself from the irritating sheets.

"Ouch." I mumble, turning my attention towards the door and groaning inwardly.

Percy is leaning against the doorway, trying to hide his smile. Effie was nowhere to be found. She probably sent him to come and get me up because she's too busy to come do it herself.

Placing a strand of my wet hair behind my ear, I mumble, "Will you _please_ tell Effie that she doesn't need to use water to wake me up?"

Percy chuckles, "Actually, Effie didn't send me to wake you up. I just like annoying you."

I shot a glare at him, "_Percy_!"

He laughs one more time, before disappearing out of sight and down the hallway.

I stand there glaring at the doorway.

_Why does Percy have to be such a Seaweed Brain?_

* * *

When I reach the dining room, Haymitch and Percy are already there, stuffing themselves with pancakes and eggs. I fill my own plate with eggs and a glass of orange juice before plopping myself next to Percy. The two didn't even look up.

Nobody said anything, until Effie skipped in, "Today's training day!"

"Obviously, " Haymitch grumbled to himself. Effie sent him a glare. The scene reminds me so much of Percy and I, that it's actually pretty creepy.

Percy spoke up, poking his food with his fork, "So are you going to be training us separately or together?"

_Please say separately, please say separately, PLEASE SAY SEPARATELY!_

Haymitch looked up from his pancake, "I'm going to train you together."

_Ah, man..._

"And," He wiped his mouth on his napkin, "In order to do this I have to know both of your weapons, and what you're good at."

I looked to Percy, signalling that he should go first. He took a deep breath, "Uh...I'm pretty good with my sword."

I snorted, "Pretty good? You managed to disarm Luke, the best swordsman in Camp Half-Blood, on your very first _week_! I think that's a little more than 'pretty good'."

He turned to me, confused on why I was complementing him, "Well, you're pretty wicked with that knife!"

"That doesn't mean I'm going to stand a chance against the others! Look at me! I'm smaller than half the tributes here! They could take me down in an instant." I snap. Why is he complementing me _back_? Heck, why am_ I_ complementing him? Wait, why are we complementing _each other_? I don't need him to complement me! That's what my prep team is for!

Percy snorted, "You're too fast for them. They couldn't catch you even if it was a life or death situation. And in this case, it is."

"You know what—?" I started, but was cut off by Haymitch.

"Okay, _enough_!" Haymitch rose from his chair, "Neither of you go to the swords or knife station. Focus on what you don't know, like plants and survival junk, and stay together. _No matter what._"

Percy and I began to protest, but he held up a finger, "Hey! _You two_ were the ones who agreed to do whatever I say."

I crossed my arms and looked in the other direction. I wanted nothing to do with Percy Jackson.

Haymitch pointed to both of us, "Together." With that, he left the crystal table, leaving Percy and I to avoid eye contact with each other.

Not even ten seconds after Haymitch leaves, I'm up and in my room, trying desperately to sort out my frustration.

No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to figure out why I'm so furious with Percy. Why does he always have to go and try to get me to _like_ him? Why does Haymitch want us to be friendly towards each other? We're about to die, anyway! It makes no sense! Why is Effie so colorful? What is up with this?

I bang my forehead against the wall. I hate not knowing things. For me, it was like walking around with a blind fold and ear plugs in your ears.

I'm not sure how long I stay in that position—head pressed against the dark gray wall, breath shaky, and eyes squeezed shut—before I straighten up.

_Come on, Annabeth,_ I tell myself, _Don't let Percy get to you._

I take a deep breath. Just relax.

That's when I notice the black uniform sitting on the bed staring up at me.

It has red and white stripes down the lining of it, the number 12 pinned to the back of it, and the words 'Greek' sewed in tiny gold letters under the number. Black combat boots are placed on the floor, directly below the outfit.

This had to be my training outfit.

Training.

I shuddered. Just the thought of meeting all of the others face to face was enough to turn my stomach inside out. They all seemed so intimidating, and so..._big_.

I put on my outfit, and examine myself in the mirror.

_Let's get this over with._

* * *

"In two weeks twenty three of you will be dead, and one of you will be alive," The head trainer says in a creepy monotone.

_What a great way to start the day, _I think to myself, _Reminding all of us that we're going to die. It just lifts people's spirits._

"Now," She continues, "Over the next four days each of you will need to pay _very_ close attention. Especially to what I'm about to say."

Next to me, Percy groans quietly. I can tell he's irritated with all of them trying to give us advice about winning, when in reality we all know one of the bigger kids is going to win. I mean, sure, I feel his irritation with these people, too, but there's no point in pouting about it.

"Oh, get over it." I hiss.

Percy shoots a death glare at me, but says nothing.

"No fighting with other tributes. That's final. My advice is to not ignore the survival skills. Everyone wants to slash away with a sword, but most of you will die from natural causes, such as: Infection, dehydration, sickness, hypothermia, and even rabid animal or insect bites."

The trainer continues with the different training exercises, and how we are free to roam the stations as we please. When she finally finishes, we are dismissed, and everyone wanders off to a different station. The ones from the Roman camp, and the Norse camp head straight for the swords and knives.

I watch as Avalon throws her knife straight in the heart of a human dummy. The sharp sound of the impact makes me jump a good three feet in the air. She high-fives the others, and notices me watching. Her eyes narrow and she sends a clear message, _Next time, that's gonna be you._

I quickly turned away from her, feeling sick, and looked up at Percy. Yes, I had to look _up_ because he was a head taller than me—something that I am _not_ happy about.

"So, what do we do first?"

He stops and thinks for a minute, "Well, Haymitch told us to stay away from the weapons, so why don't we start with the edible and poisonous plant station?"

I nod in agreement, "Okay."

* * *

White Baneberry? Poisonous. Belladonna? Poisonous.

This is way too easy. I look over at Percy to see that he's struggling. He kept pressing poisonous for every type of berry, whether it was poisonous or not.

Finally, after another thirty minutes, he groans, obviously frustrated, "Can we go somewhere else?"

I nod in agreement, "Okay, where do you want to go next?"

We spend the next few hours like this. I catch Tyro, Avalon, and three other burly looking kids staring at us several times. They want to see if we're any kind of threat to them or not.

Yeah, like_ I'm_ a threat.

The only thing Percy really seems good at is his sword, weight-lifting, and camouflage. Weird, right?

We end up at the fire-making station, which Percy is absolutely no good at. I'm assuming it's because he like working with water, and, well, fire is the opposite of water. Every time he tries he usually winds up getting his fingers burned.

He tries one more time, "OUCH! Gosh!" He starts shaking his finger around, like he's trying to get it to fly off of his hand or something.

"Percy," I try, but he's already rambling on about it.

"Gods! Stupid, ugly, good for nothing, dumb, worthless fire-making—" Percy mutters to himself, examining the burn.

I'm about to tell him to shut up, when I hear a small giggle coming from around a corner. I turn and see it's the little girl from the Persian camp, laughing at Percy and his ridiculousness.

Percy notices her, too, and stops his rambling long enough to stare a her for a while. I give the girl a small wave, but the second she sees me, her eyes widen, and she backs into the corner and out of sight.

"Poor girl," Percy sympathizes, making me jump a little, "She doesn't deserve to be here."

I nod, a sick feeling settling in my stomach, "Why don't we move on to another station."

* * *

For the next three days, we do the same thing over and over again. Haymitch asks us what happened, gives us tips on things, and Effie sends us early to bed every night, much to Percy's disappointment.

When the final day of training rolls around, Percy is a lot happier than usual.

We were at the knot tying station, when a voice rings out over the loud-speaker, "Tyro Kirkland, from Camp 1, the Norse Camp, is up first. Everyone else, please exit the Center at this time."

As we leave, Percy mutters to me, "What are we doing?"

I shake my head, "Not sure."

We're rounded up into a room, and told to stay put. One by one the kids leave the room, but the creepy part is, they don't come back. Percy manages to ask a boy sitting next to him what we're even doing.

Percy turns back to me, "He says we have to impress the Olympians."

"Oh," I sigh in relief, not fully interpreting what Percy just said, "Good, I thought we were gonna have to- WHAT?"

Percy nods, totally calm,"I know. The last person I want to see right now is my dad."

I stared at him, "Oh, well, I kind of meant that this training score is the difference between life and death, and if we blow it then there's absolutely _no_ chance of us surviving the Arena."

"Oh," Percy looked away, "Yeah, I was talking about that, too..."

Finally, it got to the point where it was just me, Percy, and the little twelve-year-old. Things have never been so awkward.

"Makani Matthews, from Camp 11, the Persian camp."

The girl sighed as she stood up, muttering, "They couldn't have just said Mackie?" With that, the girl exited the room, leaving Percy and I alone in an awkward silence.

Mackie. So that's her name. Interesting.

We sit in silence until they call Percy. He takes a deep breath, before rising.

Before he has a chance to go through the door, I call, "Good luck,"

Percy turns and smiles a genuine smile at me, "You, too." And then he's gone.

I sit for about twenty minutes, "Annabeth Chase, from Camp 12, the Greek camp."

Before entering, I push my shoulders back, inhale a deep breath, and shake out my nerves. Then, I slowly open the giant doors. I make my way to the center of the room, and come face to face with Hades and the twelve Olympian gods.

* * *

**Rain~*  
**


	7. The Private Session and The Scores

I can tell by the way they all stare at me, that they would give anything to go back to their throne rooms. Back to doing absolutely nothing. They've been here too long, each one of them absolutely bored to tears.

"Um," I begin. _Wow, great way to start the conversation, Annabeth._ I tell myself.

They all continue to stare at me, intently.

"Annabeth Chase," I begin, "Camp 12, Greek camp."

I can feel my hands shaking out of nervousness. The fact that they're all twenty feet tall, and could easily squash me into the ground does not make any of this easier.

Zeus waves a giant hand, signaling me to continue on with whatever I was going to do.

I bolt over to the knife section that I've been itching to get my hands on for days, and pick out the one that is most similar to my own knife. This one has the tip of it curved in a deadly arch, and is black with a silver lining to it.

I walk over to the dummy used for knife practice, and take cautious aim.

Using all my strength, I pull the knife up to my ear, take a slight step forward with my left leg, and throw the knife as hard as I can.

I miss.

The Olympians actually started to _laugh_ at me. Even my own mother! My face feels hot, and my hands are clenched into tight fists. How dare they! I am putting my life on the line here for them to prove who is better, and they're just sitting around drinking, and laughing like it's nobody's business?

Not on my watch.

Just when I think things can't get any better, they do. (Please take note of the sarcasm I am displaying in that sentence.)

A man in a fancy servant suit comes in and brings a wine bottle, a pig with a golden apple in its mouth, and a chocolate fountain. The minute the man sets everything down, the Olympians all crowd around it, all exclaiming with joy, while I'm completely forgotten.

At this point, I'm so mad at the Olympians I'm about to walk out on them, leave them and their stupid pig to have some _alone time_, but that's before I notice the chandelier hanging two inches from the rim of the pig's silver platter. The chandelier is held up by a thin wire that looks so easy to break it is painful.

Wow.

They put that expensive looking chandelier in a room full of sharp and pointy weapons...not smart on their part.

Everyone is laughing, drinking, and having a wonderful time, while I sit here, and stare at them in complete disgust. And the sad thing is, they don't even notice me. I could sneak out right now and they wouldn't notice until _after_ they've eaten their stupid pig.

I can hear Apollo's voice, "Who got this pig? Huh? Tell me, who got this pig?"

Full of frustration and humiliation, I throw the knife upwards, sending it straight through the wire. Just as I predict, the chandelier comes crashing down, causing many screams of alarm, and crashes straight onto the rim of the pig's plate. The sudden impact of the object is too much for the plate to handle, so the next thing I know, the platter tips forward, and sends the pig flying into my arms.

Aphrodite stumbles back, and ends up landing in the chocolate fountain. Hera trips over a chair, causing her to land flat on her rear—much to my enjoyment. Hephaestus and Ares both simultaneously run over to help a squealing Aphrodite, who was now covered in chocolate—all while Hermes and Poseidon burst out laughing. Artemis leaps over the leaps over the table, and out of harms way, while Athena stares at me with an amused expression, like she never knew I had the wits to do something like that.

Thanks, Mom.

The majority of the Olympians calm down and stare at me in disbelief; they all just stand there like ice sculptures with looks of terror etched on their faces.

I hold up the dead pig, and wave it teasingly in Apollo's direction, "_I've_ got the pig."

Apollo's jaw hits the ground.

To prove my triumph, I pluck the golden apple out of its mouth, and sink my teeth into the juicy treat.

"Well," I say as I swallow, "I see you have some cleaning up to do, so..."

I give a slight bow, then exit the room, still eating my golden apple.

* * *

"YOU _WHAT_?" Effie screeches.

"I told you, Effie," I state, pausing only to take another chunk out of my apple, "I hit the rope with a knife, causing it to break, then the chandelier tipped the plate that had their precious pig on it, sending the pig flying into my arms, and Aphrodite into a chocolate fountain. I also kind of...took their apple, and...I'm eating it right now..."

Effie's face was absolutely appalled. Haymitch burst out laughing, "What were their faces like?"

I give a laugh, "Terrified. And when I walked away I could hear on of them mumbling, 'I knew we shouldn't have put that there...'"

I can see Percy, trying to hide his smile by staring down at his pork-chops, but he's definitely smiling.

Haymitch kept asking me more and more questions like this. I answer every single one as honestly as I can, and I find myself recollecting the moment, realizing it was even funnier than I let on. The gods absolutely _hate_ getting made fun of, and I'm sure that if anyone else found out about the incident, they'd be the laughing stock of the entire mythological world.

Suddenly, we all hear Haymitch's phone buzz, "It's a message from Zeus. Turn on the television."

Effie hobbles over and turns it on with a snap of her fingers, and we all plop down on the couch to see the scores.

The Norse camp goes first.

A picture of Tyro fades onto the screen. Below his picture, the number 10, in flashing lights.

I gulp at the sight of that number. Haymitch told me that 1 was extremely bad and 12 was the highest number you could get. A ten was pretty good. Aw, man!

Next is Avalon, who ends up getting a 9. She's cruelly sneering at the camera in her picture, obviously trying to scare the rest of her opponents. I am very disappointed to tell you that the sneer is working.

Hope gets an 8, and Callaway gets a 9, along with Avalon. The girl with the fiery hair ends up getting a 7, which isn't too surprising, and her partner gets a 4.

One by one, more names and more scores show up. Cordelia Malveroy: 6. Aidan Warner: 3. Jaynna Wellington: 5.

I was surprised when I saw little Mackie pull up a 7, since she's so small. I guess she must've shown them something pretty impressive.

Percy's face flashes across the screen, and I'm surprised to see he's actually smiling in the picture. The score under him is a nine. Everyone turns to congratulate him by slapping him on the back. I congratulate him, too, but in reality I'm worried. A nine is a seriously high number. The ones from Camps 1 and 2 may be asking him to join at one point.

The only thing I manage to get out is, "Nice job, Seaweed Brain."

Then my face comes up on the screen, and I bite my lip in anticipation.

_Here comes my four..._

Then, it happens. My number on the screen pops up: 11.

An eleven? That can't be right! I...what...What _is_ this? Some kind of practical joke? My mouth is gaping open, and my heartbeat quickens out of surprise.

Percy turns and grins at me, "Wow. They sure liked you."

I turned back to the screen, barely able to process what just happened. I got an eleven? I got an eleven. I GOT AN ELEVEN! Ah, man! I got an _eleven_!

The number swirled around in my head like an angry hawk. Anger, excitement, disbelief, all emotions that filled my insides, gnawing at me. Eleven. My head felt like it was spinning.

Even as I went to bed, it stayed there.

Eleven.

After finally managing to process my number, I begin to ponder over the different consequences. A sickening feeling washes over me. What if the ones from the Norse camp ask _me_ to join their alliance?

Ugh, no.

I wouldn't join. Not in a million years. I mean, who would be so low as to join the gruesome killing machines, otherwise known as the Norse campers?

I shook the thoughts away, as I lie in my bed. I stared blankly at the white ceiling, looking for something, anything, to keep my mind off of the Games.

A voice in my head chants over and over, _Only two more days. Only two more days._

I toss and turn, trying to wrench the taunting voice out of my head, but it's stuck there. Tomorrow we'd be interviewed to let the Olympians and the rest of the audience get a good feel of our personalities, and opinions, and to see who's worth keeping alive, or not.

There's a part of me that just wants to get these Games over with, and just accept my fate. There was an eighty percent chance I wasn't coming home. The thought made my insides flip inside-out, and shiver ran through my body.

_Relax, Annabeth. _I told myself, _Just get some rest._

Slowly, but surely, my body began to relax, and my world turned black. Before I knew it, I was lost in a dreamless, peaceful sleep.

* * *

**Rain~***


End file.
